„Serbia’s President is asking to return military service in Serbia because of Kosovo! This should be taken with concern by the EU. But, we do not worry. We have our Army, ready and now part of the US military in peacekeeping missions. Be calm!” – Avdullah Hoti tweeted today. The acting Kosovo Prime Minister also sent a letter on the same topic to Quint countries, the Kosovo government announced. But what did the Serbian president actually say?
Some Kosovo media outlets picked up the news from the B92 website yesterday about the President of Serbia’s public address – „You know what problems we have in Kosovo; we will open a debate on military service„.
Vucic, who held a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Army yesterday, said at the press conference afterward that the issue of compulsory military service was raised at the meeting, but that it will still be widely discussed in public. At the same time, he listed the limitations for such a change. However, not a single time during his address did the president, or the journalists present there, mention Kosovo.
Nevertheless, the text published on the B92 website contains Vucic’s alleged quote:
„You know what problems we have in Kosovo, we have other regional problems, along with the third kind of problems, which relates to geopolitical disputes of the great powers, and where we are often the country around which their interests clash.“
When asked by an RTS journalist to list the security problems of Serbia, Vucic failed to provide an answer to this question.
The acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Avdullah Hoti, however, claimed today that „Serbia’s President is asking to return the military service in Serbia because of Kosovo!“ Hoti also said that Kosovo also has a „ready“ army.
He also called on the ambassadors of the Quint countries to react, both due to Vucic’s statements and „Srpska Lista’s pressure and threats towards the non-Serb minority in Kosovo.“
„The aim of these statements, as well as the pressure and intimidation of non-Serb minorities, is to interfere with the parliamentary elections in Kosovo and disrupt the democratic process in our country. This kind of behavior is unacceptable. We call on you to take all necessary measures against such a dangerous approach and make it clear that interfering with the political processes in Kosovo will have consequences for those who do so,“ Hoti said.
He also assessed that Kosovo institutions are committed to organizing free and fair elections and enabling all citizens who have the right to vote to participate in the elections.
Below we publish a video of yesterday’s address by the President of Serbia.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
